PHOBIAS: Now and Then.

Nyctophobia- Fear of the dark.
It seems like one of the most common phobias of small children. At least that is what I have been telling myself over the years! Curled up in my bed, each peer down dark hallways cut my imagination loose. As a child I relied on the small luminescence given off by tiny bulbs. These colorful plastic covered bulbs were on the wall raised a foot above the floor. They gave little definition to the shag carpet between my bedroom and the bathroom. Yet it was enough to forget about what was beyond the lit shag carpet: my imagination. Ugly monsters, fierce animals, hungry snakes, possessed people and all other fabricated characters never actually left the dark and showed their faces.

Thalassophobia- Fear of the ocean or sea.
Lived minutes from the Pacific most of my life, yet it did not change the way I viewed the ocean. I saw it as a mass of unknown possibilities. The more I learned about it as a child, the more respect and fear spewed from the new knowledge. A few years ago I tested the waters and surfed Camel Rock off the North Coast of California. Shark attacks at that time were still fresh in the mind. This did not bother me until I sat on my board a hundred yards off the coast and watched the sets roll in. I wondered if sharks could smell the fresh cut on my leg or the garlic scent released in my sweat. The sun lit the water below, but only to a depth just below my feet. What was underneath me and how can I accept Mother Nature?

Kathisophobia- Fear of sitting down or being idle.
After leaving the home at the age of 17, there has not been one place that has held me for an extended period. Missoula is the eleventh city and largest place I have lived in. I tend to feel stale and stagnant after living in the same spot. I would not consider it a fear but it does cause me to be spontaneous and energetic when looking for places to relax or live. Experienced a dozen states and countries yet still get home sick. But after two days in my hometown, it's time to move on. I sit when the mind and body is exhausted.

Cryophobia- Fear of cold: extreme, ice or frost.
The sound of long nails and fresh chalk shrieking down a chalkboard gives some folks the chills. I always enjoyed the sound and the way it affected people. This is a slightly sadistic joy. The one thing that sends chills through out my entire body to this day is when my skin sticks to ice just pulled from the freezer. Just writing about has given me goose bumps and a shiver!

Traumatophobia- Fear of Injury.
Perhaps the only fear in this world is loosing the ability to stay active. I have stayed in athletic shape over the years as a preventative maintenance. This has decreased the chance of illness and injury to swing my way. My passion has always been to play hard while out running trails, skinning up snowy peaks, skiing cliff faced mountains, biking steep terrain, hiking trails, and laying out for a disc on the ultimate field. Injury would test my patience and it would cause me to re-analyze what makes me happy.



Tetanophobia- Fear of Tetanus or lockjaw.
For as long as I can remember, my jaw has popped while chewing food. Once a month someone will ask about my thunderous jaw. I have conditioned my response to be clear and quick. "Yes that is my jaw and no it does not hurt. Thanks," I recite. Occasionally I will adjust my jaw slightly to one side causing it to dislocate. This is a fearful situation but the pain is only moderate and brief.



Apiphobia or Melissophobia- Fear of Bees
I am not afraid of bees, it is the sting and prolonged swelling that follows. Working for Elk Mountain HC on the Mendocino National Forest, we fought fire all over the west. Throughout several states we encountered many flying bugs, but bees were the most aggressive in southern California. During a two-week assignment, the sting count peaked at a dozen stings a person each day. Not sure how I escaped, but I was not stung during the entire assignment. I was much more aggressive and faster than the bees.



Somniphobia- Fear of falling asleep.
Pnigophobia or Pnigerophobia- Fear of choking or being smothered.
Claustrophobia- Fear of Confined spaces.
A close friend once told me that I tend to stop breathing in my sleep. She later mentioned that it happened on a regular basis for several weeks. One night as I slept, my dream was purely audible. It began with one familiar voice eventually becoming layered with all voices from my family. The volume of the dream slowly increased to an unpleasant level; this was the point I tried to wake myself. Unsuccessful with waking, the voices changed to a loud machine like buzz. At the sound of the buzz I was unable to breathe, move and yell. Another occurrence happened while taking a nap on a couch. I managed to squeeze myself between the bottom and back cushions. The dream I had was some one smothering me while I was on the ground. From time to time I have had these dreams where I am unable to breathe and wake up. This has led me to believe that I have sleep apnea.

Wow. Just read that I get sleep paralysis. It is closely related to the normal paralysis that occurs during REM sleep, also known as REM atonia. Sleep paralysis occurs when the brain is awakened from an REM state into essentially a normal fully awake state, but the body paralysis is still occurring. The primary symptom of sleep paralysis is partial or complete skeletal muscle paralysis during the hypnopomic or hypnagogic states. In other words, it is the sense of being aware that one is unable to move or speak while falling asleep or waking up.

Phobias that come up occasionally but do not change my life.
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Airborne Noxious substances- Aerophobia
Animals- Zoophobia.
Automobile, being in a moving- Ochophobia
Automobiles- Motorphobia.
Bacteria- Bacteriophobia.
Beaten by a rod or instrument of punishment, or of being severely criticized- Rhabdophobia.
Bears- Melissophobia
Blindness in a visual field- Scotomaphobia.
Bowel movements: painful- Defecaloesiophobia.
Bums or beggars- Hobophobia.
Car or vehicle, riding in- Amaxophobia.
Children- Pedophobia.
Choking- Anginophobia.
Creepy, crawly things- Herpetophobia.
Criticism- Enissophobia.
Crystals or glass- Crystallophobia.
Dancing- Chorophobia.
Decisions: making decisions- Decidophobia.
Dirt, contamination or infection- Molysmophobia or Molysomophobia.
Dogs or rabies- Cynophobia.
Failure- Atychiphobia or Kakorrhaphiophobia.
Firearms- Hoplophobia.
Insects- Acarophobia or Entomophobia or Insectophobia.
Love, falling or being in- Philophobia.
Pain- Algiophobia, Ponophobia, Odynophobia or Odynephobia.
Reptiles- Herpetophobia.
Sharks- Selachophobia.
Snakes- Ophidiophobia or Snakephobia.
Spiders- Arachnephobia or Arachnophobia.
Earthquakes- Seismophobia.
Stage fright- Topophobia.
Tapeworms- Taeniophobia.
Things or places, narrow- Stenophobia.
Wild animals- Agrizoophobia.